Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Mexico
Why is it that some musicians have such synergy together? Belanova describes the fusión that is created when each distinct musical personality comes together, and how this unique “fusion” has brought them from after-class practice to stadium-filled tours.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
Arriving in December of ‘71, a young Arturo Vega decides that it is New York where he is going to clavar, or stay put. His journey began in Mexico, where he began his artistic life as an actor and participant in experimental theater or “happenings”—an art form which was not well received by the powers that be in that country.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
A little research tells us that the musical comedy Arturo did with Héctor Suárez at the Teatro de los Insurgentes was Sigue tu onda (Follow Your Wave), a Spanish language adaptation of a Broadway show known to American theater-goers as Your Own Thing. Soon Arturo himself would be heading to New York on a tip from Paul McCartney’s agent that he could land a spot in Hair...
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Edgar Huerta, keyboardist of Belanova, refers to Joselo of Cafe Tacuba as un cuate. The word comes from the indigenous Nahuatl word coatl, which means “twin.” But Joselo is not Edgar’s gemelo, cuate is known by all Mexicans to refer to a “good buddy,” a “dear friend.”
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
To hear La Gusana Ciega play live we trekked to a club called Babel located in a giant mall / theme park called Mundo E, located just north of Mexico City. Come backstage with us for an exclusive interview you’ll find only here!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
As it turns out the young Arturo Vega, Mexican emigré actor and artist in New York, lived below a girl who was seeing a young man named Douglas Glenn Colvin (who would come to be known as “Dee Dee Ramone”). The two visionaries got to talking…
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Mexico
Belanova is appreciative and proud that so many of Latin America’s and Mexico’s biggest stars, such Joselo and Coti saw fit to take the time to join them on their tour. The band is humble, but not without ambition; they have set their sites beyond the habla hispana, seeing potential fans in Australia, Italy and even Japan.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Armando David Ortigosa decided that something needed to be done to motivate the young people of Mexico to participate in its presidential election. He looked north for inspiration, where the “Rock the Vote” campaign used pop stars to try and get young voters to the polls. The Mexican equivalent became known as Tu Rock Es Votar.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Could it be that the “Tu Rock es Votar” campaign resulted in a closer Mexican 2006 election, one that ironically left the youth feeling more disillusioned than ever? Felipe Calderón Hinojosa edged out Andrés Manuel López Obrador by such a thin margin that the losing side demanded a total recount, which was not granted. The ensuing cloud surrounding the election left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Mexicans.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Juan is a seller of large garden plants in the fashionable La Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. Luckily for us, he was willing to tell us a little about his lovely merchandise, most of which grows native in the lush mountains of Oaxaca.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
We skip backstage once again to get some final thoughts from La Gusana Ciega, learning a bit more about their career and personnel changes. Like many of Mexico’s popular bands today, they got their start at a Mexico City club called Cocotitlán, which is also the name of a municipality well known for its corn festival.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
Our good friends from México City are willing to talk about everything: good, bad or ugly. Here we have their take on kidnapping, one of the growing fears of Mexicans.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
Some people could see Arturo Vega as just a guy who happened to design the Ramones logo, but the truth is that he had to get his hands dirty with hard work, and that meant loading tons of equipment, manning the lights and basically doing whatever was needed by the band. The reward was great: thousands, maybe millions, wearing an image that he created.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
These guys are partially obsessed with stardom, or at least with astronomy. Now they’re talking about “el núcleo de Belanova,” the core of their energy.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
Antonio Vargas is a versatile Mexican artist living in Los Cabos. He has done cartoons, commercial drawings, paintings and a lot of sculptures. In this episode Antonio is going to show us some of his cartoons containing the adventures of Surfo.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
We visit a simple fruit stand in Mexico to find tasty avocados, smallish watermelons from the third harvest and two types of sweet mangoes. Ah, a bit of nature’s bounty found under the mango trees.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Our surf-loving friend Antonio Vargas is a talented illustrator with a varied career. Here we see some of his more commercial work and some of what he does for fun—like an illustrated magazine and notebook doodles.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
We learn more about summer fruits, thanks to our friends at Fruteria Los Mangos. So many varieties, colors and recipes to explore. Anyone up for a colorful pomegranate margarita?
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
You may know the baraja española, the Spanish deck of cards, with its classic renderings of kings and knights in four suits. Our illustrator friend Antonio Vargas created a uniquely Mexican baraja with native imagery drawing from the pre-Columbian Aztec, Olmec, Toltec and Mayan cultures.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
We love surfing and we love nice, friendly people. In this one small store in Los Cabos, we ran into two of our favorite things. Come hear the owner and a star employee share their knowledge of different boards. They’re very helpful with beginners.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
If you go to the beach and just sit on the sand, this could be your chance to change things. Instead of just contemplating the waves and watching the surfers, embrace the ocean: Start surfing with some basic lessons from our friends in Costa Azul Surf Shop.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Viviana really enjoys studying Political Economy at the UAM [Autonomous Metropolitan University]. She tells us about her major and the plans that she has for the future and shares some insights about the large social gap that exists in Mexico.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Paty loves her university as much as she loves her city. In this video she tells us about the wide variety of museums and other interesting places that Mexico City has to offer.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment? You will not be able to recover it.